Indecision

It's an interesting time for the local real estate market in Hampton Roads, VA. I track the local economic factors for trends in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Norfolk. What I have found is that we are in a transitional time where it is neither a buyers market nor a sellers market. However, buyers think it's a buyers market and sellers expect full price offers. The result is indecision. Buyers are afraid to pay too much and sellers want to wait it out for better offers.

The great thing about Hampton Roads is that our real estate isn't as affected by the economy as other areas of the nation. We have a transient area with the military moving in and out of our cities.

The latest data shows me that 50% of homes on the market are selling. Three years ago, with the housing value plunge, we saw that less than 30% of homes on the market were selling. Once we hit the 50-60% mark, we are in a transitional period and over 60% is a seller's market. Many economists in our area confirm this in recent articles pertaining to our inventory supply.

This summer produced multiple offers for sellers, but sellers were paying 3% closing costs for their buyers. When you add up the expense of selling, you are talking 9% of of the purchase price. On a typical Virginia Beach home that adds up to $40,000 fast! If you purchased your home in the past five years, you don't have $40K to spare. But sellers will pay and are paying less with the shrinking inventory. It's all about supply and demand, and as we head into our final quarter, our supply is not keeping up with the demand. Read more on Real Estate in Virginia Beach on my blog www.jenniferziemer.com